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Big Pine scrapes past Eagles for second win of season

In a back-and-forth battle that took the full strength of the Big Pine football team’s roster, the Warriors toppled Lancaster Baptist, 33-27, Saturday.
“It was a hard-hitting game,” said Big Pine coach Mark Tillemans. “They (Lancaster Baptist) took our punches and didn’t give up.”
Big Pine jumped ahead early, but two special teams breakdowns allowed the Eagles to get back in the game.
After going ahead, 13-0, in the first quarter, the Warriors quickly added to their lead in the second quarter, taking a 19-0 lead. But the Eagles didn’t quit, as they ran back the kickoff for a touchdown.
The Warriors answered Lancaster Baptist’s score with a touchdown. But again, the Eagles ran back the kickoff for another score.
Despite the two Eagles touchdowns, the Warriors had a 25-14 lead at the half.
At the beginning of the second half, Lancaster Baptist edged even closer to a comeback, as the Eagles scored another touchdown to make the score 25-20.
But Big Pine wasn’t rattled. The Warriors handed the ball off to freshman David Barlow, who scored a 30-yard touchdown off the first touch of his varsity career.
“We’re going to bring him along slowly, but we expect a lot from him,” Tillemans said of Barlow, who turned 14 last week.
Barlow’s score with the help of a two-point conversion gave the Warriors a 33-20 lead going in to the final quarter.
The Eagles scored one more touchdown before the game was over, but Big Pine was able to kill time and hold on for the Warriors’ second win of the season.
Big Pine’s victory was a balanced attack as every Warrior made his mark on the field and in the stat box.
“We do have a deep bench and everyone is contributing,” Tillemans said. “That adds to the continuity of the team. We have a lot of weapons and we use them all.”
One of the weapons the Warriors used in its win over the Eagles was the air attack, something they didn’t get a chance to use against Hillcrest Christian in their first game.
Warriors quarterback Isaiah Bacoch was 9-20 for 138 yards and four touchdowns.
Also helping out on offense were Suma Davis, who had 70 yards rushing off of 12 carries; Nick Santiago, who had 51 yards rushing off of 11 carries, 5 receptions for 81 yard and 2 touchdowns; and Tyler Amisone, who had 18 yards rushing off of 5 carries and 5 receptions for 37 yards and 2 touchdowns.
On defense, Amisone and Colton Carrington led the Warriors with 13 tackles apiece. Ryan Carrington and Ronnie Dena added 9 tackles each. Carrington and Dena also had a sack each.
The undefeated Warriors play again at 1 p.m. Saturday against Hesperia Christian.